PAGE 10 • GO! MAGAZINE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021 • THE BULLETIN
BEER, WINE & MORE
bendbulletin.com/godrink
Worthy’s Peace and Salinity
brewed with Madras malt
BY JON ABERNATHY • For The Bulletin
W
orthy Brewing Company has been busy in the new year, releasing a number of new small batch beers as well as launching a new line of low-calorie
hazy IPAs. As might be expected, many of these new beers are hop-forward, but one in particular bucks the trend and stands out with an unusual
origin.
Peace and Salinity is a lager brewed with
lemon zest sea salt — but that’s not the un-
usual part. It was brewed with malt from
Mecca Grade Estate Malt, located in Ma-
dras, which was malted during the Lions-
head fire last summer. Smoke from the fire
infused the grain, to give it a subtle smokey
character typically only found in specialty
malts.
“The malted barley out of the bag had a
subtle yet noticeable aroma, but just through
tasting the beer during conditioning, it’s
very subdued,” said Worthy brewmaster
Dustin Kellner via email, when I asked him
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about the beer.
The beer is based on a Dortmunder Ex-
port style lager, one of Germany’s pale lager
styles inspired by pilsner. It originated in the
Dortmund industrial region in Germany in
the latter half of the nineteenth century. Dort-
mund at the time was one of the country’s
most important centers for the coal and steel
industry; it was full of thirsty, hardworking
men who wanted to drink beer at the end of a
long day, which meant crisp, pale lager.
Local breweries created their versions
of pilsner-inspired lagers, and the popular,
stronger “export” style became the dom-
inant one for the region. It built upon the
malt sweetness of Munich’s helles lager and
the hop bitterness of pilsner, was typically
stronger than either, and had a hint of sulfur
from the local mineral-rich water.
Once one of the most popular styles in
Germany, particularly after World War II,
the style was in decline by the 1970s. I asked
Kellner what inspired it for Peace and Sa-
linity.
“Our brewer Hayden Reynolds had the
idea for this beer and wanted to brew a la-
ger that was markedly different from the
lagers we have been brewing the last year,”
he said. “The Dortmunder style was chosen
to embrace the higher ‘export’ ABV as well
as an opportunity to benefit from the extra
body that the (addition of) under modified
(Mecca Grade Gateway malt) would pro-
vide.”
And the lemon zest sea salt? “The lemon
zest sea salt is a Jacobsen salt,” said Kellner.
“A third of a pound was added to a 5bbl
batch, and I think we were all surprised at
how much lemon came through, likening it
to a lemon cookie.”
He provided samples of Peace and Salin-
ity to review.
The aroma is full of lusciously bready
Jon Abernathy/for The Bulletin
Worthy Brewing Company’s Peace and Salinity
malt, think fresh-baked bread, or crackers,
and the smoke is quite subtle, like camp-
fire or burning grass. There are hints of the
lemon zest essence, which is reminiscent of
lemon pound cake.
There is a light smokiness in the flavor
which evokes German rauchbier (smoked
beer), but it’s quite light. A bready malt
sweetness brings to mind Grape Nuts cereal,
toast and Triscuit-like crackers. I couldn’t
really detect any salt and the lemon brings
a clean snap to the finish. It’s light and crisp
and nicely drinkable.
It’s stronger than a typical pale lager, with
7.3% alcohol by volume, and is only avail-
able on draft (though you can get cans and
growlers filled to go). It’s a limited batch,
brewed on Worthy’s five barrel pilot sys-
tem for its Heart & Soul series. The brewery
used most of the smoky malt to brew Peace
and Salinity, so if you’re interested in trying
it, don’t delay.
e e
Jon Abernathy is a beer writer and blogger and launched
The Brew Site (www.thebrewsite.com) in 2004.
He can be reached at jon@thebrewsite.com.